Another Confederate Monument Comes Down, This Time in North Carolina

August 14, 2017 – Durham, North Carolina – A protester kicks the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier after it was pulled down in downtown Durham. (Credit Image: © Casey Toth / TNS via ZUMA Wire)

A Confederate monument that had stood in front of a North Carolina courthouse for 112 years was taken down overnight after months of debate and protests.

Crews used cranes early Wednesday to remove the monument — a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier atop a marble pedestal — from its spot outside the Chatham County courthouse in Pittsboro, roughly a 35-mile drive west of Raleigh.

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The county Board of Commissioners voted in August to remove the statue, CNN affiliate WRAL reported.

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A few dozen people gathered to watch the removal after the county announced late Tuesday that it was about to happen, CNN affiliates reported.

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Debate over the monument’s future sparked protests against and for its removal in recent weeks. A fight erupted Saturday between pro-monument demonstrators and counterprotesters, leading to the arrests of 11 people, WTVD reported.